


A Poisoned Kiss

by EmpressBandora



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Chase is a dolt, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Loves Riley, Fluff and Angst, Genre Savvy, Imposter!, M/M, Murderbot!Koda, Slight out of character, So Much Snark, Tyler Knows Stuff, What-If, Zach is Ivan (Only if "End of Extinction" is still canon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 19:30:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20662526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpressBandora/pseuds/EmpressBandora
Summary: A What-If from RangerBoard's Power Rangers Super Romance and Shipping Thread that attempts to answer a question that really bugged me:Why was Riley so crazy and character assassinated all throughout Dino Super Charge?





	A Poisoned Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Multiple POV. I like triangulating from different perspectives. It’s fun and I’m addicted to it. Halp.
> 
> Also, this fic is the prelude to a multi-chapter I am working on.

** A Poisoned Kiss **

**Riley**

Riley pulled up his smile and locked it in place passing Chase and Kaylee as they alternated between states of co-dependent hypnosis and obnoxious facial fusion for yet the sixth time since his shift at the café started. He winced internally. Dumping the bus tray into the back sink, he desperately held in his dry heaves. His regular busing sweeps across the café floor made seeing the two lovebirds inescapable.

On the one hand, he was happy that Chase had found happiness…at least he finally stopped destroying the grill gawking at another pretty girl. Chase would flirt, cajole, and woo girl after girl only to end up heartbroken each and every time… and who would be faithfully there to listen to his sad rambling? Riley: audience of one. After defeating Cavity, he and Chase began to grow very close, much to Riley’s chagrin. In some ways, it was kinda nice. Through Chase’s commiseration, they spent a lot of time together, whether it was installing the replacement grill together, training out at the track, or even catching a movie Chase had prepaid tickets to after being unceremoniously dumped for saying something depressingly conceited to his date. Riley felt rather guilty though- his happiness in hanging out with Chase sprung out of Chase’s own pain and misfortune. Worse still, there were times where Riley almost- just almost- believed that he was on a date with Chase himself. Though Riley cherished their friendship, he eventually came to admit that he secretly thrilled every time another girl broke Chase’s heart.

So for months since their (one-sided) heart-to-heart at the track, Riley was Chase’s rebound that he’d go running to when romance when awry. And every time, Riley deluded himself just a little bit more that one day, he wouldn’t have to make it all up in his head anymore. That is, of course, until **_Kaylee_** came along…

He wondered if his color Energem was supposed to be ironic- that he was destined to be green with poisonous envy…

He could not wait for James to locate Arcanon’s base and the Dark Energem so he could destroy them both and finally be free from Amber Beach...

Then he could simply leave and move on with his life once they defeated Arcanon, and destroyed the Dark Energem.

He continued to putter about in the back of the café mulling in his mood. It’s certainly not Chase’s fault- he can’t help who he’s attracted to. Nor was it Kaylee’s fault. After all, who could resist Chase- despite him being an oblivious, insensitive clod? ‘NO’ he resolved ‘Kaylee is NOT the enemy’. His own heart is- the ignoble traitor. Had he any less sense, he’d would happily take his own saber and Seppuku it out.

Gripping the ends of the sink, he silently beseeched the indifferent universe from his miasma of existential woe for an answer: **_Why?_** Why did he have to develop the unhealthiest and most futile crush possible? Why couldn’t it have been Koda, Ivan, or even Tyler? They’re all kind, funny, handsome, strong, athletic and FAR more sensitive than Chase ever could be… but no: he had to love Chase, he begrudgingly conceded.

Perhaps he _could _have just glazed it over, let it become part of his ‘normal’. That was more rational- and a hell of a lot healthier than wallowing in self-pity. But having to see them ALL THE TIME when the team wasn’t fighting one of Arcanon’s monsters or foiling his schemes was slowly, but surely, eroding a deep yawning gulf in Riley’s heart. Every week he found himself WISHING that Arcanon would attack with TWO- no- THREE monsters at a time: ANYTHING for a little distraction from his inescapable loneliness.

Koda’s hugs did little to cheer him up- their warmth and affection only punctuated the painful and growing hollowness within, threatening to cave him in. In fact, after one of Koda’s fiercer embraces of greeting, Koda stared back at his friend in lost confusion. Vacant and defeated were Riley’s eyes, like all light and hope had drained from him that Koda’s own pricked with tears. ‘Shit, this is getting bad,’ realized Riley as he shook himself prescient. Of all people to hurt with a **_mood_**…

He grew more reckless too, throwing himself further headlong into each successive battle, bypassing even Tyler and Ivan to get at the monster of the week- a green hurricane of slashes.

What WAS it this time? Some sort of parrot-frog? A flying upside-down bell that threw rubber duckies? A mecha built of video game consoles? He wasn’t sure and he really didn’t care- the only important thing was it was a monster and that’s why it had to go. It was the ONLY thing in this whole stupid world he was ALLOWED to get mad at. And get mad, he WOULD.

Stupid Sledge. Stupid Arcanon. Stupid Kaylee. Stupid Chase. Stupid Keeper and his STUPID energems.

He didn’t WANT this. He didn’t WANT to be a Power Ranger. He didn’t WANT to risk his life fighting monsters in a never-ending weekly routine to save a world constantly on the brink of total annihilation-

He didn’t WANT to fall in love with his best friend… only to watch him love another.

He didn’t WANT to drown in his own tears.

Hell, he didn’t WANT to have anything to do with this anymore.

He didn’t- he _wouldn’t_ need _anyone_-

“Final Stri-”

“FINAL SLASH!”

** _-EVER._ **

* * *

**Shelby**

“What the HELL was that back there, Riley?” she whisper-scolded, pulling Riley aside as they got back to the base “That’s so not like you. You NEVER rush in half-cocked like that.”

“Yes I have!” counter-whispered an affronted Riley “…against Fury” he finished lamely.

“Who nearly killed your dog and almost got you to hand over your energem to him. You had a REASON that time…” Shelby pressed “What’s your reason this time?” she continued as she clasped her hand on his shoulder, her eyes never leaving his. “I’m not questioning that you got the job done, but I’m worried about you” She brought his retreating face back to hers “You really could have gotten yourself hurt” Riley rolled his eyes petulantly “All right, all right, I’ll be more careful.”

“No. Not good enough” Shelby shook her head. She was not letting this go “This isn’t you. What’s wrong?” She noticed Riley’s darting eyes as they narrowed periodically and followed his line of sight all the way across the lair…to a soda-slucking smirking slob slouching in a chair and intently texting on his phone whilst bobbing to his headphones.

She cursed under her breath as all the pieces fell into alignment cascading understanding into her eyes like some cruel slot machine jackpot. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose to drain the tired, hazy ache in them. As Riley came to realize that Shelby had figured him out, he suddenly looked so small and fragile “Come on” she led.

As they walked, she quickly recounted in her mind how Chase had been behaving. It probably wasn’t so much that Chase found a girlfriend, or even a steady one… it was that he was so zoned in on her that everyone and everything else was getting pushed aside- especially Riley. Riley certainly wasn’t happy that Chase was so hung up over Kaylee and kept forgetting their training meetups at the track and other smaller things. It’s probably been happening a lot longer and much more frequently than anyone else would have seen.

Dragging Riley away into a cloistered room, she sat him down at the foot of the bed “How long?” she asked gently. Riley let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding “Since Cavity…that’s when I knew…I even began to tell him, but he…” he vaguely gestured “had his headphones on” by now, he had begun quivering “I- I couldn’t get up the nerve to tell him after that” his voice diminishing before becoming intense “and over time I thought- I assumed we were getting closer…so I wouldn’t _have_ to tell him but that maybe he’d _eventually_ feel the same way…like one day he’d wake up and see I was there all along…” he snorted “…yeah like _that_ was ever gonna happen…I’m just stupid…so stupid…” he repeated over and over to himself.

Shelby could only hold her best friend and rock with him as he shattered into millions of Baby Raptor fragments in her arms. “Shhhh….shhhhhh….” she soothed “Hey, hey. We’ll get through this… everything’s gonna be ok… I promise” she vowed through tears of her own.

* * *

**Ivan**

He’d never seen Sir Riley fight with such intensity. Yes, Riley’s discipline slipped during his devastating and vindictive onslaughts, but it was effective nonetheless. It was…awe-inspiring in fact. Furthermore, Riley seemed more despondent as of late, retreating more and more into training and study. Not that Ivan was complaining- he really enjoyed sparring with him, but Riley hadn’t been himself lately and it began to trouble him.

He had tried many times to broach the subject, but every time, he was mournfully rebuffed or deflected. It further puzzled him that no one else seemed to notice Riley’s decline or withdrawal into himself. Even Riley’s best friend Chase was unaware of just how much Riley was in pain. Small wonder really- Chase could be thick as hog lard sometimes. It wasn’t until Ivan, on break at the Dino Bite, watched Riley silently from afar that he finally understood and he cursed himself for not seeing it sooner.

In his day, such a love would be punishable by death amongst the common folk. The gentry on the other hand were… a bit different. Expressly forbidden as it was for such a relationship to exist between two men, it still happened- so long as it was discreet and handled with all the care and delicacy one could muster- it was all so…_understood_. And he would be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to the fellow swordsman. Perhaps if Riley could not be with Chase… ‘No’ he shook the thought out of his head ‘It would be most inappropriate and potentially hazardous’ he reasoned with himself. Ivan resigned himself to supporting Riley as he always had- by being the best damn sparring partner he could be- totally professional yet caring and understanding.

Because there’s absolutely _nothing_ untoward with two men constantly crossing swords to the exclusion of everything else in the outside world. Where their focus is solely upon each other in close intimate quarters in a slow and deadly dance in the dark…

Nope- nothing wrong or unseemly there at all…

* * *

**Tyler**

He was happy for Chase- he really was. But did he HAVE to keep bringing Kaylee up all the time? Right- fine, we get it- you’re in love- hooray. It was too much even for HIS boundless energy and optimism.

Tyler isn’t stupid by any stretch. He may not be the most perceptive of the team, but even he saw something wrong with Riley. Trying to broach the subject was fruitless though. What Tyler tried to pass for subtlety ended up being either vague and nonsensical:

_ You know how sometimes you **really** like something but you kinda don’t know that you do… or maybe you **do** but you don’t really know how to **say** that you do? Like you think you’re weird for liking something and you’re afraid no one gets it? Like with Babylon 5- not many people get that show and prefer Deep Space 9 but they don’t get that Deep Space 9 was just Star Trek’s ripoff of Babylon 5 and if people could just understand that, everyone could like both and no one would have to get stoned to death or get their human rights trampled over?_

Or ham-fisted and rebuffed:

_ So what do you think of Kaylee? I know we haven’t spent a lot of time with her, but do you think she’s a good match for Chase? I mean, you probably know him better than anyone and what he likes- I mean not what he **likes**, I mean what he **prefers**\- in terms of people- not **dating** because- well you’re both friends and you train together a lot- well not lately because he’s been with Kaylee all this time- **not** saying that you’re not still important to him- as a **friend** that is…_

Littlefinger he was **_not_**.

Tyler felt for Riley- he really did. After all, who wouldn’t? Riley was smart, sensitive, and adorable. If only he weren’t so insecure and hard on himself. Every time Riley acted out- which seemed to happen more and more lately: his ordeal with Burt and the race, Koda’s short-lived baseball career, his competitiveness with Matt… he was acting out from a place of great vulnerability and insecurity. It made Tyler wonder what kind of relationship Riley had with his dad- he never DID talk about his father… just his mom and brother. He should really make a point of mentioning that. Maybe they could bond over commiserating their own ‘Daddy Issues’.

Heh- ‘Daddy Issues’. Tyler figured after finding his dad, everything would be sunshine and lollipops. But life never seems to be that simple. As quickly as James Navarro reappeared in his life, he vanished again- he lost his dad to a freaking ENERGEM for ten years and NOW there he goes again running after ANOTHER one…and after discovering that it was in space, he’s off to find Sledge’s/Snide’s/Arcanon’s base, even if it takes ANOTHER ten years…

Nah, he’s not bitter- not one bit. Just the happy, perky shirtless yoga puppy over here- cause that’s what he is- that’s ALL he is…

Wait… **_adorable_**?_ Riley_? Where did THAT come from? 

Different information apparently moved through Tyler’s brain at different speeds.

No- he definitely wasn’t a dolt (he’d reserve **that** judgement for Chase) but he certainly wasn’t winning a Nobel Prize either…

* * *

**Kaylee**

They all hate me. I know it.

And why shouldn’t they? I’m just some outsider. I’m not in their little clique- their club.

They think I don’t notice their short sharp glares, their wordless judgments and silent resentment.

They think I don’t know that they’re waiting for me to slip up so that they can get rid of me.

Especially that Riley. How is it that everyone loves that little wimp? He’s just as devious and a conniver as I am.

UGH! Why don’t they like me? I’m trying to be somebody important- an astronaut!

Sure I’m not REALLY going to school for it but….

Well… I HAVE been in space… for the past 65 million years anyways- doesn’t that count for **something**?

* * *

**Kendall**

Where was Shelby taking Riley? Oh, never mind. Kendall couldn’t be bothered with the antics of her team right now- she’s got important work to do: building more weapons of mass destruction to throw at Arcanon until they’ve secured the Dark Energem and James finds Arcanon’s base. Actually, if their work didn’t have to be so secret, she’d be showered with all **kinds** of awards and international accolades for her work in energy conversion…or possibly face sanction and imprisonment by the International Criminal Court for the weaponization of a near-limitless power source with NO governmental oversight whatsoever.

Nah- she’s no mad scientist lady. She just designs devastating weapons capable of leveling cities for hormonal eighteen-year-olds in peak physical form charged with defending the world and said ultimate power source against the scum of the universe. Nope- nothing wrong there. ‘Totally normal museum curator-lady’ she nodded.

And yet, she wondered if this hyper-focus on saving the world has dehumanized her view of her team- her friends, who look up to her as a sort of mom. In the past, on more than one occasion, she has had to remind her team that they were just kids too. That sort of seemed to fall by the wayside as the threat from Sledge- then Snide… and now Archanon- grew geometrically. Now it’s all ‘Dark Energem’ this or ‘stop Archanon once and for all’ that. 

Wow- she realizes that she’s come close to treating her own adopted family as merely an arsenal of living weapons. “Well that’s enough work for today” she declares to no one in particular whilst setting her tools down determinedly.

Maybe taking more time and a more active interest in her team’s problems would make her a more effective mentor/leader. Especially with Chase and Riley. Not them TOGETHER of course, but each has their own problems of late that have really affected the team. 

Chase seems to have to learn the same lesson over and over and over again- insensitive clod this- braggart that- vainglorious all-around. And she’s had to get yet another overhaul for the grill after he set it on fire for the third time this week. He even got dumped and taken back in the span of a couple of days because of his little “Black Ranger” stint with Kaylee. Not only did that risk exposure, it put Kaylee at risk too. Of course, THEN came the “Beauticruel Incident” and Kaylee fell into the know. One had to wonder though…She seemed to take it well…as if she had known all the time…

She wished she could just institute a policy of rangers not dating non-rangers but that would get incestuous VERY fast. Plus, since she didn’t think it would be appropriate for HER to date the other rangers, except maybe James, the fellas would either have to be REALLY nice to Shelby or be VERY hetero-flexible…

Her eyes rolled up and to the left as the prospect lingered in her mind… she shook herself out of it in a fit of embarrassment.

And as for Riley- what is going on in that boy’s head? If he isn’t driving himself crazy training and studying, he’s obsessing over something else- like Koda’s baseball career. Like he’s trying to distract himself from something. She really should ask him about it. In fact, he’d been notoriously quiet during the entire Kaylee debacle when normally he’d be very opinionated and at least try to support Chase- not clam up and withdraw. Unless….

* * *

**Koda**

Innocent eyes followed Riley and he thought as hard as he could about what was wrong:

Riley was sad. That makes him sad.

Riley is sad when he looks at Chase.

Chase is making Riley sad.

But Riley loves Chase and that makes Riley even more sad.

Koda loves Riley.

So Chase is making Koda VERY sad.

Everyone else is sad because Riley is sad.

Chase is making everyone else sad.

If Riley made Chase happy, Riley would be happy.

If Riley is happy, everyone will be happy.

Kaylee makes Chase happy.

This makes Riley sad.

So Kaylee makes Riley sad.

So Kaylee is making everyone sad.

The answer is so simple a **_caveman_** could reach it:

**_ Kaylee must die._ **

** **

* * *

**Chase**

He was on top of the world. He was a Power Ranger- doing something useful with his life. He’s got great friends, a fun job with said friends, and a beautiful and wonderful girlfriend. Everything was great. He couldn’t ask for anything more in his life.

Then why did he feel so uneasy- like something is off or that he’s missing or forgetting something? James is off searching for Arcanon’s base, so it’s only a matter of time before they take him down for good. In the meantime, they’ve fended off every monster, foiled every plot that Arcanon has thrown at them. And Kendall- Ms. Morgan- is building new weapons for them every week so eventually they’ll be able to take the fight to the enemy and finish them off once and for all.

Was it just him or did Ivan just flash a quick glare at him from across the grill? Probably because Chase had set it on fire again the other day. And was Tyler even more incoherent than normal today? He could have sworn he heard Tyler ask Riley about what he thought of Kaylee. The thought was absolutely ridiculous: Of COURSE he thought Kaylee was great. Everyone does. How could they not? She’s terrific. She loved not only Chase, but also his alter-ego: The Black Ranger. So that technically means she loves him for him and everything about him- right? And now she knows everything so everything’s settled. No more secrets.

And she helped him realize how selfish he had been. Isn’t that a sign of a good relationship? A relationship of equals? Where each partner improves the other? Where they’re not afraid of speaking their minds (read: yelling at each other) so that the other would understand and become a better person for it? Where they open their hearts up to one another, where they can simply **be** and become closer through shared life experiences- all of it, every facet, holding nothing back- and face countless perils- face the world- fearlessly. Together. Timeless. Ageless.

Forever.

…

…

Right?

Wait, what was he talking about again?

Oh, right- Kaylee.

Yeah, that’s right…_Kaylee_.

* * *

~**Inevitably a month later**~

* * *

**Kaylee**

That stupid caveman! How did he **know**? He just attacked me out of nowhere!

UGH! All that work- choosing and preparing the right human puppet to possess, steering her to get close to the Black Ranger- down the drain! She could still hear their biting words after being unmasked:

_ ‘How could you, **Poisandra**?’_

_ ‘That’s low, even for a sneak like you’_

_ ‘Thought you could be like Heckyl and worm your way into our hearts and our base?’_

_ ‘You’re disgusting’_

Thinking back, she couldn’t remember when the rangers were anything but kind or at least respectful, like that time they all went on ‘Vacation’ together- that was super **_fun_**. They were never THIS nasty to any of the other monsters they fought…they were MAD…and hurt…maybe her plan _was_ a little much…

Well to be fair, deep down I probably always KNEW they’d eventually figure it out. Maybe I even WANTED them to…

Now all that’s left is to crawl back to Arcanon.

Well at least I’ll still have Curio.

I’m going to miss being human.

I think I’m actually going to miss Chase too….

…Poop.

* * *

**Koda**

Called it.

* * *

**Tyler**

Called it.

* * *

**Ivan**

Called it.

* * *

**Kendall**

Called it.

* * *

**Shelby**

Called it.

* * *

**Phillip**

Called it.

* * *

**James**

Called it.

* * *

**Keeper**

Called it.

* * *

**Zenowing**

Called it.

* * *

**Albert (Back in New Zealand)**

Called it.

* * *

**Rusty**

Called it.

* * *

**Worg**

WORG!!!! Called it!!!

* * *

**Matt**

Called it.

* * *

**Heckyl**

Called it.

* * *

**Riley**

**_Still_** doesn’t make me feel any better…………………………………………………………………………………………………*sigh* Called it.

* * *

**Chase**

How could he have been so blind? So STUPID?

**_POISANDRA?_** Really? Of all people to fall for… in human guise that is. The REAL Kaylee up and moved away across the country- “To continue my studies” she said, but really meant “To get away from you bunch of lunatics who ruined my life. NO ONE should EVER date a ranger- you’re thusly 1000 times more likely to get attacked by monsters.”

At least the team was rather forgiving despite everything. He really WAS being an ass throughout his whirlwind romance with Kayl- _Poisandra._

If anything, much deserved japes and jabs aside, they seemed to be taking the betrayal harder than he was. Especially Riley.

In fact, after all was said and done, Chase noticed how his teammates lingered to pat Riley reassuringly or whisper something to him discreetly. Why would Riley be taking this any harder than Chase was?

_Wait_…all the times he bailed on Riley: Training at the track, all the movies Chase _insisted_ they go see only to end up seeing them with Kaylee, or the _one_ movie Riley wanted to go see that Chase had instead taken Kaylee- POISANDRA to, the N-Zed boys concert at the local bowl theater (that one stung Shelby too), or just for a jog in the park. He hadn’t been there for Riley _at **all**_.

Wow was he a horrible friend. And regardless of how many times he tried to smooth things over or apologize, Riley simply found a reason to be somewhere else. Standing there looking foolish, he looked about for support and finding everyone else had conveniently vanished too.

This continued for a couple of weeks. With the other rangers even running interference for Riley. It’s not that the others were unkind to him- quite the opposite really- but when it came to Riley, it was like they were protecting him… from Chase?

Why would everyone be protecting Riley from him? He’s just trying to say he’s sorry and get everything back to normal. Wait- is that the problem? This is something that can’t return to normal? How badly could he have hurt Riley? It’s not he and Riley were _dating_ or anything. Or like he **_cheated_** on Riley with Kaylee or-

_*Series of Flashbacks*_

The **MAZE**.

_‘Riley, you beauty!’_

The **TRACK**.

_‘Sorry mate. Were you saying something?’_

The **FERRY**.

_‘I wish we were in the South Island so we could see your family’_

** _FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_ **

**~Later at the Dino Bite~**

Shelby was wiping down tables with Koda when she spied a determined Kiwi headed her way ‘Oh, here comes Chase. Looks like he wants to talk about something’ she muses.

“We need to talk- about Riley” Chase starts. “Do we?” she blandly replies. Koda looks up in expectation. “YES” he insists “I think I understand why he’s been so wonky lately.”

“Do tell” interjects Ivan as he saunters in with Phillip, his jacket billowing behind him.

Ignoring everyone’s tone, Chase continues coming in close as if to reveal a secret “I think it’s because he’s got a crush on me and has been for a bit now”

Silence greeted him. He expected something- _anything_ from his friends. But they were stone: rigid, stoic and unyielding.

A slow, deliberate clap echoed in the air behind Chase and throughout the lair. Tyler, looking wryer and more acerbic than anyone EVER thought possible, lazily strolled in with his father James in tow. “Well, well, well… the last horse finally crosses the finish line” throwing an arm around Chase’s shoulders, he began to lightly crush him “What took you so long?”

A flabbergasted Chase looked back and forth “Y- you all knew?” Nods all around “and you didn’t tell me?” More nods. “You needed to figure it out for yourself, Chase” said Shelby “It wouldn’t have done any good for us to just _tell _you” she continued “You either wouldn’t have believed us or you would have yelled at Riley for not telling you sooner himself”

“…and Riley likely would have killed us all with his new Green Prism Slash” added Phillip.

Offended, Chase shot back “I would not have!” “Then what _would_ you have done?” retorted Ivan “Suddenly realized your true feelings all along- go groveling to Riley and profess your undying love?” Damn, Ivan could throw some shade. Looks like he’s assimilating well to the 21st century. Chase remained at a loss.

“He just needs time, Chase” soothed Kendall as she walked in on the Power Rangers version of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ “Yes, you were fooled by Poisandra- all of us were, but think about how Riley feels. He’s loved you all this time and you’re naïve to think that not even a _little_ part of you knew that. After a rocky start, you two become best of friends, thick as thieves, and suddenly you abandon him for Poisandra- I’m sorry- **_Kaylee,_**”

There’s that shade again.

“That he’s a boy and you’re a notorious skirt-chaser aside: How was he supposed to feel that you effectively chose a **_monster_** over him?”

Chase was once again stunned into silence as the others left him to chew on this a bit.

Walking the museum grounds alone, Chase cursed himself for being so stupid and allowing himself to be fooled. To be fair, he DID think he and Kaylee were really bonding- that she really **_cared_** and if it really **_was_** all an act- Poisandra manipulating Kaylee like a puppet and speaking through her, she should win an Academy Award for her performance.

**Poisandra**

This was all her fault. Sure she wanted to drive a wedge between the rangers. But she never expected to **_feel bad_** about it. And somewhere along the line, she actually **_wanted_** them to like her- **_her_**, not ‘Kaylee’. Something about her time as a human with Chase and all the sugary sweetness…the feels and the romance- it was something she’d never really experienced- certainly not with Sledge.

Well she may not be switching sides any time soon, but she can at least try to fix what she did.

“Chase?” she calls to him as he sits by a fountain. Chase stops dead with a glare in his eyes as he reaches for his morpher. Raising her hands in surrender she quickly says “Wait, I just want to talk! Look I’m sorry-”

“Why are you here, Poisandra? And why do you still look like **_her_**?” he spits. “It’s a personal holo-projector- but if you **_want_** me to look like a giant piece of Valentine’s Day candy in plain sight I can. I’m here because I just want to make things right” Chase gives an incredulous look.

“Look,” she began as she sat herself beside him “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I **_didn’t_** want this to happen. It was a silly experiment- a prank that went too far,” she hugged herself as her gaze dropped “After I lost Sledge, I was inconsolable, not even **_snacks_** could cheer me up” she turned to Chase “Then I thought ‘well hey, maybe I’ll just have fun playing around with human emotions’. I thought of you and how you were always running off with girls. You’d be perfect to date- blindly passionate to anyone you were with and **_so_** easy to manipulate. Then when I got bored with you, I’d use Kaylee’s body to get to your secret base without tripping your Alien DNA scanners and steal your energems to get my revenge for you rangers blowing up my Sledge-ums” she emphatically finished.

Poisandra released a tired sigh “But then I got to actually care for you, Chase, and for a just moment I forgot I was pretending” Chase could see her eyes wet with genuine tears as she reached into her purse “And in the time since, I remembered how genuinely happy I was with you and realized how much you didn’t deserve getting lied to and tricked like that” Chase felt his eyes sting with tears “Here, I have a little something for you” she pulled out a strange conduit-like piece of technology and presented it “It’s the capacitor for the Magna-Beam” Chase’s eyes widened as she continued “Without it, Lord Archanon won’t be able to grow any monsters so he won’t be attacking until Wrench builds a replacement. You’ll have a couple of weeks…maybe a month uninterrupted to make up with Riley.”

Chase was astonished “But how did you know to get it?” Poisandra put her hands on her hips and huffed “Hey, I know stuff too! …and Wrench left the ship blueprints on his workshop desk.” Chase’s eyes went from the capacitor to Poisandra “But won’t they know someone took it? They’ll know there’s a traitor…maybe even suspect you” She waived it off “They’ll never suspect me. Besides, Singe will just nuke some poor outspoken monster and that’ll be the end of it” her face turned serious “Now _go._”

**Chase**

As Chase entered the lair, his intense, sweeping gaze lasered into everyone causing the team to immediately freeze. Seeing his target, he marched to Riley, locking eyes the whole time- like the Kiwi Terminator. As he finally reached Riley, he was suddenly unsure of where to begin “Look, mate, I-”

“Stop right there, Chase” preempted Riley “There is nothing to apologize for.” Everyone else took this as a cue to file out as if a boardroom meeting had adjourned. Riley continued “I was being ridiculous for taking all of this so hard. You followed your heart and I followed my head at the expense of my heart. I should have been more considerate. Everything’s ok- Kaylee’s free, Poisandra’s thwarted and now everything is back to normal” he continued cheerfully.

“But that’s just the thing, Riley. It’s not back to normal” interjects Chase “It was me who was too stupid to see what was going on. And I only just finally figured out what you’ve been trying to tell me all this time” Riley’s eyes filled with dread and terror “I just want to tell you that I-”

“NO! Please. Stop,” cries Riley halting Chase’s momentum “I can’t-”

“I’m just saying that I was stupid before.” Chase continued. “Look, on some level I did know how you felt and I just didn’t know how to handle it so I just played it off, like a jerk and I’d be lying if I said I never considered-” he hesitated and Riley heard it. Likely everyone in the next room could too. “Well if we could maybe just give it a g-”

“And it doesn’t matter” Riley’s gaze was firm “Because I’M saying NO”

Now Chase was insulted. Here he was, opening himself up “Well why the hell **_not_**?”

Riley blew out a long exasperated growl and silenced him, deftly and swiftly, with a time-stopping kiss. Chase’s shock melted away into a warm surge throughout his body and the world fell away. When they separated, his budding giddiness gave way to an arctic crystallization down his spine. His blood froze as their eyes met. The resigned look in Riley’s face- the perfectly serene sorrow in his eyes set in a resolve Chase had seen all too many times stopped him dead.

Riley’s next words fell like lead coffin lids and completely eviscerated him where he stood- where he stayed in the deafening quiet long after Riley drifted out of his vision in a blurry tableau.

_“…because you chose **her**.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I promise not to leave it like this! There will be happy endings!
> 
> Stay tuned for the series starring Riley as....the Bachelor?


End file.
